Letter on EU Referendum

Dear Sir,

In voting not to hold a referendum on the European Treaty, our local Labour and Lib Dem MPs have let us all down badly. The Government have broken a key promise that they made back at the ballot box in 2005. Then, Labour and Lib Dem MPs stood on a platform that they would hold a referendum on the EU Constitution.

And although the name may have changed, the contents of this EU treaty are almost exactly the same as the old constitution. Only 10 out of 250 proposals in the 'new' treaty are different from the proposals in the original EU Constitution. In other words, 96% of the text is the same as the rejected Constitution. This fact is mirrored by the words of those behind the original constitution. The author of the Constitution, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, has said: “All the earlier proposals will be in the new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way.”

Further, this EU treaty gives even more power over crime and criminal justice to the EU and European courts at a time when violent crime is at record levels and out of control. Surely this is the last thing that we should be doing.

This is all a deeply dishonest and shameful process. In recent referendums organised by the I Want A Referendum campaign, 88% voted for a referendum on the treaty. Many others went to the polls back in 2005 expecting that the government would also give them that chance to vote in a referendum. I attended the rally for a referendum in Westminster last week, where thousands turned up to try and get their MPs who have broken their pledges to change their mind.

This Government promised us a referendum at the last election and its MPs were elected on this promise. It's time that there was a change in politics and the government and their local MPs kept their word. That's why I am standing up for the voters of Kingswood who want the choice they are being denied.

Chris Skidmore
Prospective Conservative MP
Kingswood

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